That's when we reached the moment I'd feared. He climbed onto my lap and kissed me with what felt like a caged hunger.

"Does this scare you, Ethan?" he breathed.

I nodded in response.

"For me, sex is meaningless without a sense of connection," he breathed in my ear. "Do you feel a connection, Ethan?"

I slowly nodded again.

"Do you know why I prefer the company of older men?" he asked, seductively.

How could he have possibly known that I was wondering exactly that?

"Whilst you appreciate my youth, I value your maturity," he said, unbuttoning his shirt. "We've been having fun all week, whereas guys my age only want to fuck."

Ah, the irony.

My body reacted to that last word and he clearly noticed. I needed a distraction, so I cupped his face and said, "I think you're beautiful."

Amir's pupils were dilated and it wasn't just from the weed. He pulled off his shirt and casually cast it away.

I didn't yet dare make a move.

His eyes explored mine before saying, "If you don't want to..."

He couldn't finish his sentence because my tongue was already in his mouth. When I broke off the kiss, I said, "It's been a while, so..."

"Same," he said, the pot making both of us laugh uncontrollably.

It was a welcome sound, the sound of us.

***

I woke with a fuzzy head in an empty bed. It was a good thing that I didn't have Jason this weekend. I rubbed my eyes and checked the time, it was only eight.

Had Amir already left?

I got up and saw his clothes still lying on the floor. That's when I heard the faint sound of music coming from the living room.

I found him behind my piano, singing a slow song in a perfectly pitched, angelic voice. As I approached, I noticed that he was crying as he played.

I suddenly panicked. I wasn't the cause of his tears, was I?

He stopped playing when he saw me and breathed, "Hey."

"Are you Ok?" I asked, sitting next to him on the piano stool.

"More than Ok," he said, wiping his cheeks.

"What a beautiful song."

"My own instrumental cover of 'Ghost' by Justin Bieber," he said. "I played it at the funeral."

"Oh," I said, suddenly feeling like I was intruding.

He took a deep breath and said, "I finally managed to fulfill my promise to him."